More efforts are needed to help people in humanitarian crisis feel love and hope, said State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the activities commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Convention held at UN headquarters in New York on Monday.

So far, 196 countries have signed the Geneva Convention, a cornerstone of international humanitarian law. 

In his speech, Wang shared three stories of humanitarian acts. The first was the story of John Rabe, a German national who set up a special safety zone that provided shelter to Chinese civilians from the rampaging Japanese soldiers in World War II. Against all the odds, he managed to save more than 200,000 Chinese people and recorded the atrocity the Japanese invaders had committed in the city of Nanjing in his diary.

A righteous man like John Rabe let people see the light, in the middle of darkness, Wang said.

The Geneva Convention established principles of protection for vulnerable groups in armed conflict. As one of the first countries signing the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, China always takes on international humanitarian responsibility to provide help for countries to overcome their humanitarian crisis, Wang said.

Wang also raised the example of an Uygur couple, who volunteered to donate blood to an Afghan orphan with a heart defect. The child needed to go through surgery, but because she was of a rare blood type, the operation was very risky. The Uygur couple's kind act helped her to access treatment and lead a life that is no different than any other child's.

Neutrality, justice and independence are principles to abide by in humanitarian actions. Countries should avoid politicizing humanitarian issues and taking military steps in humanitarian assistance, Wang said in the speech.

As he highlighted the responsibility of states to abide by the Geneva Convention, Wang raised a third example: A Chinese millennial who teaches at a refugee camp in a small town in Lebanon. The millennial taught the displaced children painting, calligraphy and playing percussion instruments.

"Children are entitled to happiness; as long as I can bring some change, I won't leave," he was quoted as saying by Wang in the speech.

It is the small acts of individual men and women, like the Chinese millennial, that are bringing hope to people in a humanitarian crisis, Wang emphasized in his speech.

But apart from counting on individuals' humanitarian acts, the United Nations should do better in mobilizing countries to offer humanitarian assistance. 

To ultimately solve the international humanitarian crises, countries need to work together to prevent conflicts from happening and settle disputes in a peaceful way, Wang added.